Abstract:
This dataset is a description of the shallow coastal marine fauna found in the Vestfold Hills and Rauer Island area, Antarctica. The results are from various surveys in this region over a 12 month period in 1981-82, and a full listing of species (with photographs) is given in the documentation. It includes benthic, pelagic and planktonic organisms of the coast as well as those that inhabit the ice-water interface.

Quality
A list of all known species found in the coastal Vestfold Hills and Rauer Islands areas is given in this dataset. It is the second only such study undertaken in the area. A number of surveys were made during the 1982 ANARE expedition to Davis. Various sampling methods were used including: scuba diving, plankton nets, hookah (surface supply) system, 50mm gill nets, pump sampler, and collapsible ... net. Scuba dives were made during December 1981 and February 1982 (sites 1-4,6-12,16-21). Divers picked specimens from the substrate and placed them in collecting bags. Fish collections were also made in summer by this method. Vertical hauls from the substrate to the surface were made in December 1981 using plankton nets of 200 micron mesh (sites 5,13,15). Site 22 was investigated by beachcombing. Sites A,B,C were sampled monthly from January to December 1982. Site D was sampled only in January and February. The hookah (surface supply) system was used by divers to examine the bent hic and ice/water interface animals at sites A,B,C,D. Divers assisted in laying 50mm gill nets monthly at sites A and C, which were retrieved 24 hours later and the captured fish removed. Zooplankton samples were also taken monthly at sites A,B,C using a pump sampler adapted from Coughlan and Fleming (1978) and a collapsible net which could be opened and closed using ropes. Samples were sorted in the Davis biology laboratory, with microscope animals sorted under a Wild M5 binocular microscope. All specimens were preserved in either 4% formaldehyde and sea water, 80% ethanol and sea water, or frozen. The locations of the sampling sites are given on maps in the documentation.

Access Constraints
Data available in the citation, the AADC biodiversity database, or at GBIF, OBIS or SCAR-MarBIN.